Apparatus for feeding fragile rods, tubes, and similar articles



June 18, F .DONOVAN El' AL APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FRAGILE RODS, TUBESAND-SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Dec. 2o. 19:53 2 sheets-sheet 1 .Z'Az VENTDR. s JUA/'Az' F DUN-D mzxz; SEUR GE'J'LL INEI/VDR TH,

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APPARATUS FOR FEEDING FRAGILE RODS, TUBES-AND SIMILAR ARTICLES FiledDeo. 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheeil 2 .Z'Nv EN TDF; 5: :TDH-N P. DUNE 155A?,G2 an @E .Z'LL INE-'WDR TH,

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Patented June .18, 1935 APPARATUS FOB FEEDING FRAGILE RODS, TUBES, ANDARTICLES John F. Donovan and George Illingworth, East Cleveland, Ohio,assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of York ApplicationDecember 20, 1933, Serial No. '103,278

' 5 claims. w1. 4er-14) Qur invention relates tofeeding devices and moreparticularly to devices for feeding single lengths of rod or tubing froma pile thereof. Our invention is particularly adapted to devices i forfeeding lengths of glass tubing such as are used in lamp `manufacturefor stems, exhaust tubes, arbors and co-called top tubes. For instance,such a device may be'used to advantage as the top tube feeder in theminiature lamp I sealing machine disclosed in Stiles et al. Patent1,742,153 which requires the tubes to beplaoed one at a' time iavertical position in the machine heads as they are indexed in and out ofposition in front of the feeding device. The

i principal object of our invention is to provide means for feedingsubstantially cylindrical objects at a high rate of speed. Anotherobject of our invention is to provide feeding means suitable for usewith articles of glass or other eas- 3 ily damaged or brokenl materials.Other objects of our invention will be apparent from the drawings anddescription which follows of one species thereof.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of 5 a device of our,invention for feedingso-called top tubes; Fig.12 is an end view of aportion thereof; Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the feeding ram and aportion of its operating mechanism; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of thetube carriage of the transfer means; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view ofthe feed control mechanismKr The particular species of our inventionshown is contructed so as to operate with the miniature lamp sealingmachine described in the patent 5 hereinbefore referred to.' Theoperation consists in pushing one tube from a pile thereof in which allof the tubes are arranged and then transferring the same to the machinehead which 'is to receive it. The device isl attached to and 0 is drivenfrom Ithe sealing machine. Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, the tubinglengths I0 are carried within hopper II whichl is moimted throughbrackets I2-I3 and rods Il some distance above bed plate I5. Theorientation of =5v the tubes is such that the downwardly tilted side ofthe hopper which is mounted vat a slight angle butts against the ends ofthe tubes and the two remaining sides of the hopper engage the sides ofthe tubes. No fourthV side is needed c on account of the tilt of thehopper. The tubes are fed as shown in Fig. 2 from'the lower left- `handcorner of the hopper-into which they are caused to roll or shift fromother parts thereof. As the lower tubes are taken away those above droponto the false bottom I6 which by its slope causes the tubes to move tothe lower-v right-hand corner of the hopper from which they move downthe inclined bottom I1 of the hopper to the feeding position. In orderthat the corner will not be choked up lor clogged with an excess oftubes, a channel is 'formed by partition I8 over the bottom which allowsonly a few tubes at a time to pass thereto. The

-open side of that portion of the hopper from which the tubes are fed iscovered by a plate I9 to prevent the tubes from shifting longitudinally.A

The method of removing the tubes from the hopper consists in pushing endiirst through a hole in the vtilted side of said hopper that tube whichis located in the 'extreme lower left hand corner. This is done by ram20 which. like all the remaining undescribed mechanism is not shown inthis position but at the position it occupies during the presentationofV the tube to the sealing machine. The ram 20 is located along line 2land is caused to move into engagementwith the tubes by spring 22 (Fig.3) which extends between a post 23 in one end thereof and a post 24 linthe ram bearing or guide 25. The extent of themovement is governed bythe end of lever 26 which engages pin 21 in the ram and is itselfoperated from cam 28 through universal joint 29, rod 30 and lever 3l.Lever 26 operates about pin 32 in bracket 33 extending from the bedplate l5, and lever 3| operates about pin 34. Shaft 35 on which cam 28is mounted represents a drive shaft of the sealing machine l and roller36 represents the means by which lever 3| engages said cam. Afterpushing the tubing length from the yhopper into the transfer-ring meansthe ram is drawn back until the end no longer protrudes through the sideof said hopper whereupon itis moved upward into the position' shown. Thepurpose of this movement is to break the bridge of tubing which oftenforms about the feeding position. .A narrow slot 31 (Fig. 2)corresponding to the width of the ram is provided in plate I9 to permitthis movement which" occurs as ram guide 25 slides upward within itsways in bracket I3 inwhich it is retained by plate 38 (Fig. 3). Thelower end of 'ram guide 25 is engaged by screw 39 (Fig. l) in lever l0which operates about pin 4I between collars I2 and 43 in bracket I3 andis operated by lever M through link 45. Lever 44 is in turn operated, bycam 46 through roller 41 on lever 48 which is connected to a link rod49. The downward movement of the ram is produced by spring 50 after theram has been withdrawn from which is supported through pin 55 and shaft56 extending from bracket 51. During the period the separator is withinthe hopperboth pin 55 and shaft 56 are at the bottom of the slots inslide 54 which they occupy due to the pull of spring 58 which extendsbetween post 59 in the end of the slide and the end of pin 55. At othertimes when the separator has been withdrawn from the hopper the raisedportions of ratchet 60 (Fig. 1) are below pawl 6| on pin 62 in the endof slide 54.` This occurs as shaft 56 is turned clockwise by lever 44with the lowering of the ram which results in the thicker portion ofpawl 6I engaging ratchet 60 since the said pawl is prevented fromturning about pin 62 by the ange 63 engaging the slide 54. With thecounter-clockwise turning of the ratchet, pawl 6| turns away from theraised portions against the pressure of a torsion spring 84 which isattached to pin 62 and said pawl.

The transferring mechanism into which the tubes are fed comprises acarriage 65 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) which receives and holds a tube ingrooves of blocks 66 and 61 attached thereto, and a slide 68 on which acarriage carrying bracket 69 is pivotally mounted. Each of the blocks66-61 engages the tube on the bottom and on one side while the remainingside is covered by arm 10 attached to the hopper holding bracket l2 andthe top is covered by jaw 1|. vents the tube from moving out endward.After receiving the tube the carriage is swung counter-clockwise 90 andadvanced into the sealing machine to the position shown in Fig. 1 by theleftward movement of slide 68 which is operated by lever 44 throughlinks 12. ment occurs as lever 44 swings to lift the ram. As the slidebegins to move rollers 14 on arms 15 move upward in the ways of camsV 16attached tobracket 51 turning shaft 11 to which both arms 15 and bracket69 are attached. As the carriage turns rod 16 lifts from the face ofAcam 19 on said slide allowing spring 80 which extends between a post inthe carriage and one in the jaw 1| to pull said jaw against the tube.

Rod 18 ridesfree in carriage 65 and is only used to push 1| open. Nomeans are provided for opening the jaw at the full advanced position inthis instance since the sealing machine jaws 8| grip the tube and pullit out of the transferring mechanism as they are indexed. Screw 82supports the end of bracket 69 when the bracket is in a horizontalposition.

In order to render the device fully automatic, it may be provided withmeans such as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 for preventing the feeding of atube if the sealing head in front of the device does 'not carry a lampbulb. This means comprisesa feeler mechanism consisting of arm 83, link84 and finger 85 which are caused to swing about pin 86 in bracket 81 toengage the bulb 88 in the stem head 89. Should the bulb not be there,stop 99 on arm 9| extending from pin 86 will be pulled up in front ofthe ram Block 61 pre- The move- 20 preventing its feeding motion. Thismechanism is actuated by rod 92 of the sealing machine which movesdownward at the proper time and which engages the feeler mechanismthrough arm 93, spring 94 and bumper 95. The bumper 95 rides freely inarm 93 allowing spring 94 to take up the excess motion thereof. A collar96 is attached to the upper end of the bumper to keep it in place whenlifted from the feeler and spring 91 is provided between arm 9| andbracket 51 to lift the feeler back to rest position.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is:

1. A device for feeding fragile rods, tubes and similar articlescomprising a hopper having oppositely disposed openings in the wallsthereof and adapted to contain a quantity of said articles substantiallyuniformly disposed in axial alignment with said openings, a ram disposedoutside of said hopper in axial alignment with said openings, transfermechanism comprising gripping means disposed on the opposite side ofsaid hopper in axial alignment with said openings, means forreciprocating said ram to cause it to enter one of said openings andengage an end of one of said articles and push it out of said hopperthrough the opposite opening into said gripping means of said transfermechanism, and means for actuating said transfer mechanism to deliversaid article to a desired point.

'2. A device for feeding fragile rods, tubes and similar articlescomprising a substantially vertically disposed hopper havingsubstantially horlzontally aligned oppositely disposed openings in thesides adjacent the bottom thereof and containing a quantity of saidarticles substantially uniformly disposed horizontally 4in axialalignment with said openings, a ram disposed outside of said hopper inaxial alignment with said openings, means for reciprocating said ram tocause it to enter one of said openings and engage an end of one of saidarticles and push it out of said hopper through the opposite opening,and means for raising said ram to agitate the articles disposed aroundsaid openings.

3. A device for feeding fragile rods, tubes and similar articlescomprising a hopper having oppositely disposed openings in the wallsthereof and adapted to contain a quantity of said articles substantiallyuniformly disposed in axial alignment with said openings, a ram disposedoutside of said hopper in axial alignment with said openings, awedge-shaped separator disposed outside of said hopper adjacent to saidopenings, means for-reciprocating said ram to cause it to enter one ofsaid openings and engage an end of one of said articles and push it outof said hopper through the opposite opening, and means for`reciprocating said separator to cause it to move through an opening insaid hopper transversely of said articles to agitate saidarticles andcause one of them to be disposed in line with the said oppositelydisposed openings in said hopper.

4. A device for feeding'glass tubes to a sealing head for incandescentlamps and similar articles comprising a substantially verticallydisposed hopper having substantially horizontally aligned oppositelydisposed openings in the sides adjacent the bottom thereof andcontaining a quantity of said articles substantially uniformly disposedhorizontally in axial alignment with said openings, a ram disposedoutside of said hopper in axial alignment with said openings, pivotallymounted transfer mechanism comprising gripping means disposed on theoppositefside of said hopper in axial alignment with said openings,means for reciprocating said ram to cause it to enter one of saidopenings and engage an end of one of said glass tubes in said hopper andpush it out of said hopper through the opposite opening into saidgripping meansvof said transfer mechanism, and means for pivoting saidtransfer mechanism to deliver said glass tube to the said sealing headin a vertical position.

5. A device for feeding glass tubes to sealing heads carrying glassbulbs to which said tubes are to be fused comprising a hopper havingsubstantially horizontally aligned oppositely disposed openings in thesides thereof and containing a quantity of said articles substantiallyuniformly disposed horizontally in axial alingment with said openings, aram disposed outside of said hopper in axial alignment with saidopenings, means for reciprocating said ram to cause it to enter one ofsaid openings and engage an end of one of said glass tubes and push itout of said hopper through the opposite opening, feed control meanscomprising a stop and a feeler, means for actuating said feeler to causeit to engage the bulb carried by one of the said sealing heads, andmeans controlled by said feeler for actuating said stop to cause it toblock the path of said ram and render it inoperative'in case a bulb isnot present in saidsealing head.

JOHN F. DONOVAN. GEORGE IIlINGWOR'IH.

